Tag Archives: Baja Sur

What are the Time Zones in Mexico?

One of the considerations and requirements of living on the U.S. Mexican border has to be understanding the Time Zones and how they affect both countries. Especially if you do business or commute to work from one side of the border to the other.

I have been involved in the International Insurance industry since 1989, specializing in Mexico, which makes it doubly important to know the Time Zones in Mexico. Additionally, living in El Paso Texas, we are the only major city in the State of Texas that is on the Mountain Time Zone and not the Central Time Zone. We need to know these zones because we deal with numerous offices, agencies, and of course customers throughout Mexico, including Mexico City.

There are three (3) Time Zones in Mexico as compared to the U.S. four (4) time zones in the continental U.S. The majority population lives in Mexico City and Merida locals, and is the same time as our Central Time Zone in the U.S.

The next time zone begins North of Puerto Vallarta, but does not include Puerto Vallarta. It does include the very popular Mazatlan, and Baja Sur (Sur meaning South). This area represents a major play ground for Americans and Canadians, especially those who enjoy the warmth of the beautiful Pacific and Sea of Cortez. Major cities in this Time Zone are Loreto, La Paz and the extremely popular Los Cabos.

Closer to home, our home, is the State of Chihuahua and includes the city of Chihuahua, as well as Ciudad Juarez, that sits next to El Paso Texas. This large area, usually described as the Texas of Mexico, is located in the Mountain Time Zone (one hour between U.S. Central and Pacific Time Zones)

Baja Norte (North) uses the same time as California, Pacific Time, while the entire State of Sonora (located in Northern Mexico, directly East of Baja Norte and bordering Arizona) does not participate in changing their clocks at any time during the year.

We hope this helps you in your Mexico travels. If you have any questions concerning this or anything else regarding travel into Mexico. Please let us know, we will do our best to assist you.

For all of your Mexico Tourist Auto, Homeowners, Motorcycles, Boats and International Health Insurance needs, please call us at 1-800-434-3966 OR Email us at ici@mxici.com or visit us at mxici.com to issue your own policy. We appreciate your business!

Mexico Official: Resorts Far From Violence

By Rafael Romo, CNN Senior Latin American Affairs Editor

Posted: 11:25 am MDT April 27, 2011Updated: 10:12 pm MDT April 27, 2011

(CNN) — A recent wave of violence caused by turf wars between rival drug cartels and security forces in Mexico has kept many American and international tourists away from the United States’ neighbor to the south.
Recently, the U.S. State Department broaded its travel warning for Mexico, singling out 11 states and warning Americans not to drive at nighttime.
But a top Mexican tourism official says the country’s major tourists spots are “perfectly safe.”
Mexico Tourism Board’s Chief Operating Officer Rodolfo Lopez Negrete recently visited the United States to promote Mexican destinations.

In an interview with CNN, he said he is confident that more tourists will visit Mexico this year.

CNN: How much was tourism affected by the violence last year?

Rodolfo Lopez Negrete: 2010 was a very good year for Mexico. We considered it to be a rebound year. (More than) 22 million tourists visited Mexico last year.

CNN: I was recently in Acapulco and I noticed that a lot of the hotels that normally this time of the year receive spring breakers, mainly from the United States, are completely empty. So, some of the things that you’re telling me do not correspond to the reality I saw there.

Lopez: We’re working on a transformation program for Acapulco to rehabilitate Costera Miguel Aleman [the avenue that runs along the bay] which is one of the landmarks of Acapulco. We’re working on additional air connectivity out of the U.S. market and international points of origin.

CNN: But Mr. Lopez, the main problem in Acapulco is not necessarily infrastructure, but the violence. What are the Mexican government and the Tourism Board doing to solve this problem?

Lopez: Mexico is a very large country. When you take into account the distance between Ciudad Juarez [the most violent city in Mexico] and Cancun, you’re talking about 1,400 miles of distance. Puerto Vallarta is 1,000 miles away and Los Cabos about 1,600 miles away. That is equivalent to the distance between New York and Houston or New York and Dallas.

CNN: But the fact still remains that violence is a serious problem in Mexico. Wouldn’t you agree?

Lopez: Yes we agree, and we understand the fact that these episodes have created a certain level of perception that is undesirable, but these have occurred in very specific pockets of the country.

CNN: Your office says that 22.4 million travelers visited Mexico last year. What is the expectation for this year?

Lopez: We have a plan that we have put together until the year 2018. Mexico would like to become one of the most popular destinations in the world. And although we already rank among the top 10 in the world, we would like to escalate that number. For 2011 our goal is to increase our business from 22.4 to 26 million tourists.

CNN: Are Americans still visiting Mexico?

Lopez: Seventy-five percent of the total number of last year’s 22.4 million visitors originated in North America. The U.S. remains the number one market, followed by Canada.

CNN: What about those traveling specifically by air?

Lopez: Out of the 10 million tourists that we get by air into the different Mexican destinations, the United States generates 6.5 million of those 10 million.

CNN: What do you say to people abroad who watch news about the violence and have concerns about traveling to Mexico?

Lopez: We would like to tell the untold story. Although we have experienced violence, it has been concentrated in very specific parts of the country. The major tourism destinations are perfectly safe, whether you talk about sun-and-beach resorts or inland destinations.

CNN: What about risks for those traveling into Mexico by land?

Lopez: We have 50 million border crossings per year. When you take that into account, the ratio or the number of people that have suffered from violence is really minimal.

CNN: Has affordability been affected by the recent wave of violence?

Lopez: Mexico is a very diversified country. We believe that the combination of the fantastic sun-and-beach resorts coupled with the wonderful cultural wealth that we offer make it a very attractive destination for summer travel.

From a value perspective, the quality of the tourism options in Mexico over the last 10 years has improved dramatically.

If you compare that with the price that we’re charging right now, it makes it a very attractive proposition for travel.

By Gary Dickey, President Insurance Consultants International

Most of the Acapulco traffic, to be fair, is now a primary destination for the Mexican Citizen/traveler. Not the North American traveler, who apparently still prefers Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Penasco, and both Baja Norte (North) and Baja Sur (South). That is probably one of the reasons as to why their was little to no Spring Break visitors to Acapulco.

For all of your Mexico Auto and International health insurance needs, please call us at
1-800-434-3966 OR E mail us at ici@mxici.com or visit us at www.mxici.com We appreciate your business!